Usborne is a direct sales company that specializes in high quality children’s books. They not only market them, but they publish them as well, utilizing a large variety of authors who are well versed in their fields. The books I would like to tell you about today are the Easy Words to Read books, phonics readers that are designed especially for your beginning reader.
Each book contains repetition of one or more letter combinations. For instance, take “Sam Sheep Can’t Sleep.” In the title, we are introduced to the theme for that book – the double e. Then on page two, we read, “Sam Sheep wakes up Pup.” The words “up” and “Pup” frequently reappear, reinforcing those sounds for the reader. Throughout the book, more words are introduced and then used, giving the reader the chance to learn the word, practice the word, and make that word part of their vocabulary. Sam goes around to the homes of each of his friends, and they try to make him sleepy. Finally, after he’s woken up everyone, he falls asleep himself, and they are left awake. There’s a typical sheep for you.
Other books in the series include “Big Pig on a Dig,” “Ted in a Red Bed,” “Fat Cat on a Mat,” “Frog on a Log,” “Ted’s Shed,” “Goose on the Loose,” “Hen’s Pens,” and my personal favorite, “Toad Makes a Road.”
Toad just bought a house and is moving all her things into it. She rents a truck and gets everything loaded up, and once she is settled, she invites her friends to come visit. But the home she has chosen is on top of a hill, and no one can get up the hill. Being a very inventive toad, she gets a steamroller and builds a road up to the top of her hill, and now all her friends can come see her. In just a few well chosen, easy to read words, the story is conveyed and with a touch of added humor for the parents.
This series is a valuable asset to your beginning reader. To learn more about the other books Usborne carries, click here.